Tomorrow the members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta will pick a new leader, and hence, Alberta's new premier. I did get myself a membership a while back, so I'll be voting. So far I think my first choice is Gary McPherson. My main reservation about him is his lack of experience in government, although he has a lot of other relevant experiences. He strikes me as an unselfish person who cares about the little guy, but smart enough not to just throw money at every problem. However, he's probably the lowest-profile candidate so it looks like he'll finish last. Even so, voting for him tomorrow isn't a wasted vote, because it still shows support for his priorities and it helps prevent someone else from getting 50% of the vote, which is necessary to win on the first ballot. (I'm kind of still in the anybody-but-Morton camp--click here to find out why--although my impression of him has softened somewhat.)
Assuming it goes to a second ballot (which will have three people on it), I'm leaning toward voting for Mark Norris, if he makes it to the second ballot. Some people are saying Jim Dinning and Ted Morton will probably make the second ballot and the third person could be Mark Norris, Ed Stelmach, or Lyle Oberg. So herein is my dilemma: do I vote for Gary McPherson on the first ballot as planned, or do I vote for Mark Norris to help ensure he at least places third so he can be on the second ballot?
It's secret ballot, so whatever I decide, I probably won't post my decision on this blog.
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2 comments:
Since Norris isn't likely to win even if he makes it to the second ballot, why not vote for McPherson on the first?
Where your vote will really count is who your second choice is on the second ballot.
Who says Norris isn't likely to win if he makes it to the second ballot? There's a definite anybody-but-Dinning crowd out there and there's an anybody-but-Morton crowd too. I'm not aware of much of an anybody-but-Norris crowd.
There's even an article in today's Edmonton Sun quoting an anonymous PC insider saying if Norris or Stelmach makes it to the second ballot, that person will become the new premier. I guess we'll see how reliable anonymous PC insiders are.
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